For most people, though, the charging network available for the Bolt is just fine. It really only fails on distance driving in the center of the country. Even there, it works just fine as a second vehicle.

GM could easily build a network to rival Tesla’s - they have the capital to be able to afford such a push, if they…

What dealers have shown resistance to the Volt?

I’ve never noticed that - I’ve just noticed they’re completely lacking in knowledge of the Volt, just like every other offering on their showroom floor. When I shopped for a Volt (didn’t end up buying, going for a used Fusion from a family member instead), the salesmen…

You assume that Tesla will keep their same service model on a cheaper car.

Also, that someone can wait a day or two for Tesla to show up in some locations (not a problem in cities with service centers, of course). Generally not an issue with the absurd abundance of Chevy dealers. For the majority of the population,…

2nd:

GM’s hybrids haven’t had the traction of the Prius because, frankly, GM’s hybrids have stunk, apart from the Volt. The Volt actually has significantly outsold the Prius plug-in because in that case, the Prius offering actually stunk.

Funny how the market works sometimes.

Who does he think he is? Linus Pauling? (Chemistry and Peace)

Too high end. This car is supposed to be cheap, remember?

Ah - looking over the details of the phase out more carefully, I see that they phase out starting the second calendar quarter after the 200k mark is reached, not when it is reached. So that removes all ambiguity of whether or not you’d get the tax credit - because you know at a bare minimum you have 3 months’ warning…

It doesn’t really need to be that difficult, I don’t think. From my understanding, the problem with charging is in the heat. Track the battery temp and you should have a pretty good indicator of wear, I’d wager.

Well, the first 200k might even run out before the Model 3 enters production. They have 128,575 left, according to insideevs.com. At the current sales pace through the first 3 months of 2016, they have about 42 months left before they hit the 200k mark. If past experience with Tesla meeting shipping dates is any…

I think this just goes to show how mileage are a stupid way (by itself) to measure age of a car.

Some parts age whether used or not. A serpentine belt will age just sitting doing nothing. Seals will fail, etc. For many of these, pure age in months is the best way to measure life.

Some parts age more based on miles…

This is very true, but few model 3s will actually qualify for the $7500 tax credit, unless sales of the S and X fail to live up to Tesla’s projections.

Realistically, Tesla is doing economic rationing here as well, by shipping high end models first. So those with the money to feed the hype get the first ones, and when the hype dies off some, everyone else gets theirs at a lower price... just as if it was something like the last Ford T-bird, which went for insane…

Here’s the rub: Tesla has said they will prioritize sales on geography and sales price, with the typical price will actually start more in the $42k range for the options most people want.

By the time the model 3 hits the market, if Tesla has reached its sales goals along the way, very few customers will get the full…

Proof that schools shouldn’t be afraid to teach trade skills.

I could drag a 220V service line from my subpanel 40 feet into my garage for ~$150. Probably a $500-750 job for an electrician....

$1 is a stretch in many places, but not always -

The $.075 per kWh you pay is, I assume, a flat rate independent of time of day. The power company charges this rate such that on average, the amount you (and all other customers combined) pay equals their average cost of that power. But for most of the day, their costs…

Eliminating the middleman *might* reduce pricing. But don’t expect it to do so by leaps and bounds. Instead of an independent business owning a dealership and paying for the capital and operating costs of said store, Tesla is doing it. They’re still going to charge you the full overhead costs plus their cost of…

Even if you only want to look at DC fast stations, there are 1,116 available to the Bolt.

It isn’t a well-developed system like Tesla’s, and would make cross-country trips painful, but that’s what flying is for.

You do realize that GM’s battery cost is already lower per kWh than Tesla’s projected cost when they get the gigafactory running, right?

Evidently not.

GM doesn’t have their own proprietary charging network... but a Bolt will have a charging network available to it.

There are 7,912 public charging stations across the US that have 21,236 outlets that are compatible with the Bolt.

In my area, there are 14 public stations that the Bolt can use. There’s 1 Tesla…

Yep - cars are classified by the EPA/US govt by interior size, not exterior. And yep - if the 3 series is as big on the outside and as heavy as an Accord, but actually gives the occupants less space than a Civic, I believe you’re correct in calling it a bloated mess.